I Went Self-Hosted!

After so many months of consideration and self-doubt, I finally took the plunge this past weekend and went self-hosted! I can’t honestly say it’s been a straightforward process, but it’s finally complete… so welcome to my blog’s new website!

I’m super excited to finally have more of a say over the way my blog looks, and I’m already feeling way more motivated to make an effort in writing quality content. Plus, everything’s pink! Not being able to have the old website that way annoyed me waaaay more than you’d imagine!

In all honesty, I spent a lot of last year feeling like my content wasn’t good enough to show off; that I was wasting my time writing and taking photos and editing and whatnot. The amount of effort I was putting in, just to decide that I wasn’t happy with the outcome, really made me rethink the way I’ve been handling blogging since I started back in 2016. Taking time to work on my photography is an area I’ve already identified as needing improvement, but one thing I’d really like to see become different by the end of this year is my engagement. I’ve loved writing since I “published” my first book at the age of five (very recommended, thrilling read), and everyone around me knows that if I could, I would make a living as a writer. Despite this, I’ve always been incredibly secretive about this blog existing when it comes to those I know off the Internet. A select few are aware of it (mostly due to me drunkenly admitting to its existence), but even my parents aren’t 100% sure what I’m talking about when I mention that I’m writing a new post. Recently, though, some have started to catch on – people who follow me on my personal Instagram account have managed to find the blog one, and have started to follow me on there too. While I panicked about people finding out, there’s been zero drama since… which made me think, am I just being too harsh on myself? Why shouldn’t I be proud to show off my ramblings?

This is what made me finally decide to invest in creating a website that I could be proud of, and I hope I can use it to finally feel confident in sharing my writing a lot more! I really want to make this blog the best it can be, and I can’t really start doing that until I stop hiding away!

While we’re on this subject, and without getting too embarrassingly cheesy, I just wanted to give a little shout-out to those who’ve followed my blog, liked and commented on posts, engaged with my Twitter and Instagram posts… if it wasn’t for you guys, I’d have given up long ago. I really appreciate it, and I hope you’ll stick around while I change things about!

Okay, that’s me stopping before I make you all want to unfollow! I hope you all like the new website – and of course, any suggestions for improvement are more than welcome!

I’m so happy for you, I’ve only told a select few of my friends just as they’re the ones I’ve seen recently! Your blog looks fab, I only just started mine back in November with WordPress but I’m really tempted to go self-hosting as I want mine to look more original & be able to do more with my blog! Would you be able to give me any tips please? 💕

Aw thank you!!
Hmm… In all honestly I’ve done this all pretty blindly; I don’t know what’s going on half the time! But I’d definitely recommend going self-hosted if you can just because it gives you so much more free reign over your work. I’m enjoying blogging so much more just because I take pride in my website now! I went with SiteGround who offer help in the switch over, so if you’re unsure about anything then definitely make the most out of that! As for looking original, there are so many designs out there that range from cheap to pretty pricey depending on your budget. It’s definitely really easy to do, you just kind of need to map out what you’re wanting out of it really! x

I had no idea either! I’d read a few bits and pieces about it, but in the end I just got impatient and went for it. The new host and WordPress were both really helpful throughout though, so don’t worry if you’re confused about the process! x

Oh wow! I didn’t know you have been writing books. I’d surely love to check them out any day. Well the feeling is quite mutual about blogging and secretly writing. Though I haven’t been on self hosting yet since I am doing all of this from my own earned money that I do by writing books. It took me almost 4 years to get a domain with my own name at the least with loads of mental babble inside and recommendations from all over I bought domain this december and enjoying it

Aw thank you! It’s quite daunting but you get so much help from both the old and new hosting sites! My content was being difficult but I’ve seen so many others say it’s easy enough to move – good luck if you decide to go for it! x